He chats up whoever will listen. He politely excuses himself if the conversation wanes.

His message is simple: I'm running for governor of Virginia. I can solve problems. If you don't want to vote for me, then stay home. Here, take a brochure.

This is the long way to the governor's mansion, winning one vote at a time. But this is Fitch's world.

The 57-year-old small-town mayor is running against Jerry Kilgore for the Republican nomination on June 14. Analysts don't give Fitch much of a chance.

Kilgore was, until recently, the state attorney general. He has the backing of state party officials, two Republican governors, both Republican U.S. senators and the Republican Governors Association. He has raised $7.1 million, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Fitch is serving his second term as mayor of Warrenton, a town of about 7,000. He has no comparable endorsements and a grassroots organization. He has raised about $155,000.

Kilgore has played to hundreds of supporters at rallies across the state. Fitch is wildly popular with anyone who follows the Jamaican bobsled team, which he created.

Kilgore has a campaign staff of seasoned veterans. Ask Fitch if he has a "policy person" and he points to his temple.

Kilgore is aiming for a November showdown with Democrat Tim Kaine. Fitch is aiming for the next lunch table.

At a break, he is asked to realistically assess his chances. The question brings a roll of the eyes.

"First of all, I don't," he says. "I try to focus narrowly -- this is what I have to do, these are challenges, these are the obstacles."

No, really. Your chances.

"How do you try to get enough people to come to the polls to win?" he asks rhetorically. "The only way I know of doing that is to reach out to as many people as I can and hope that my message resonates. You just don't know that. So you really can't assess your chances."

His message is all business. He vows to reduce the size of government and cut taxes. He wants to eliminate wasteful spending, streamline the bureaucracy and boost efficiency. He says his MBA from George Washington University will prepare him for the job as well as any stint in public office.

Since this is a Hampton Roads crowd, he tends to talk about transportation, highways and gridlock.

Over the long term, Fitch says, the state must do a better job of connecting land-use planning with highway construction. Over the short term, he favors greater use of public-private partnerships (as does Kilgore) and smaller solutions like tax incentives for telecommuting.

For example, someone working at home could immediately write off the cost of a computer and modem rather than take gradual advantage of depreciation.

These and other solutions are not new, he says, and that simple fact seems to mystify him. Politicians just don't want to act.

"This whole issue has been studied to death," he says. "My view is, let's not continue to sit on those recommendations."

The lunch crowd ranges from cordial to curious.

Raymond Selg, who works in telecommunications, heard Fitch on a radio talk show that morning. Selg describes himself as someone who generally thinks less government is better government and who values personal integrity in a candidate.

"My first impression was, I wanted to know more about him," he said.

Can he win?

"That's tough," Selg admitted.

Shirley Rowe of Virginia Beach liked Fitch's promise to eliminate the car tax. She also likes the idea of developers working along with the state to build necessary infrastructure.

"Some of the things he said have been impressive," she said.

Retail politcking aside, Fitch must move the masses to stand any chance against Kilgore, and that takes money, says Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.

And just because Fitch is connecting with a portion of the electorate doesn't mean it will snowball.

"In any party, there's going to be a small group of people who are going to be unhappy with the nominee, whoever that may be," Farnsworth said. "Some Democrats were unhappy with Bill Clinton. Some Republicans were unhappy with George Bush."

When it comes to Fitch, "there's not a lot of evidence to suggest that the numbers are very large," Farnsworth says.

Republican activist Paul Jost is not so sure.

Jost, a wealthy businessman from Williamsburg, supports conservative candidates through his own efforts and through the Virginia Club for Growth, where he is a leader.

Kilgore has strayed from the anti-tax conservative agenda, Jost says, and that gives Fitch an opening. Kilgore calls himself a tax-cutting conservative. He wants to limit skyrocketing property assessments through a constitutional amendment.